Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we begin a new year for all Christians. On this First Sunday of Advent, a new life begins; the old life is erased. Our Lord gives us this new beginning and wants to make new men and women of us. He wants to give us new hearts, with a new spirit that is capable of loving and of forgiving more easily; a heart that is not so quick to judge. Our Lord is coming. This is what Advent means. He was called the Coming One in the early centuries.
He comes only to love us. He never, never, never comes with a stick or to scold or to punish or to demand something from us. Our Lord can only love us, and he comes for this purpose. So why do the words of his Coming scare us? People get so afraid of the announcement of his Second Coming. There is a proverb that says a person who owes nothing fears nothing. Why are so many afraid and live in fear? It must be because you think you owe something and if you think so it is because you have not been listening. There is someone who has paid the bill, for everything. He has paid everything to the eternal Father. He has covered the debt of Adam and from all our personal sins. Christ has paid for it, and we owe nothing and so I am very happy that the Lord is coming. I am not afraid, Marantha, Come, Lord Jesus, Come. I need that you come soon! He comes when we least expect it and there is nothing that I can do to make him come. He will come without warning. We can do absolutely nothing to make him come when we want. And yet when he comes there is so much joy; it is something wonderful.
Our Lord is present in every Eucharist, but you may be asleep. If you are sleeping, he cannot enter you. If a thief enters your house and you are sleeping, you can’t hear anything. You don’t even know he is there because you are asleep. Christ doesn’t come to steal from us; he comes to love us and to make love to each one of us. If you are asleep that means you are in sin and if asleep you don’t know that the Lord is passing. You don’t see that he passes because you are so engrossed in yourself. To be asleep means to love only yourself. When you are sleeping you are oblivious to everyone else; you are stuck on your own problems and worries. You might be so self-absorbed that you are not even aware of the others; this is sin. You are loving yourself in everything, in absolutely everything; this is a deep selfishness. That’s what it means to be asleep.
Our Lord invites us to be watchful, which is to love, to be awake, to see that another is present and in need of love. Jesus passes and he does so in the other. You can love him in the other. He comes to comfort us, to love us. If you think that you are ok or pretty good as you are, then he will not come to you; there is no need. You are already satisfied with yourself.
On the other hand, I need the Lord to pass and make me a new man. I need him to enter my life and look how wonderful he can make things. How great it is to have a Eucharist where you can speak in a small community, and he makes himself present in the Word or the preaching or a comment that someone makes. And not only that, but you can physically receive him in your body. Christ can physically enter you.
Who are you or I to be able to receive him? Many times, we see that we are worthless. What a grace that he enters you and me even if we are the opposite of purity and holiness. Your life and mine is a manger where there are many animals, and the smell is awful; it smells like… He still enters us so we should be amazed. He becomes so small, so defenseless and longs to be with you. He says, be watchful, not because he wants to hit you but so you don’t miss him. He says, I want to enter your life and make you full of joy. I want to possess you! So, watch and wait!
St. Paul was a Pharisee and thought that he was very good but then he realizes that he is not so good and realizes there is something else inside of him. He has the experience of wanting to do good, but then he does evil. He wants to love but instead he hates. He wants to be generous but is cheap. He wants to be chaste and faithful, but he cannot. He said the evil inside of me always comes out. However, towards the end of his life he says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race; it is no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me. It is a crazy thing to say but every Christian can be possessed by Christ. He comes into your life this Advent to transform you and possess you.
He doesn’t come because I am chaste; he comes to make me chaste. He comes to make me faithful; he comes to make me patient with the kids; he comes to make me generous; he comes to make me speak well of others, not to look down on them. He comes not to give you a tingling in your heart. He comes to make you feel at ease. He comes to lift you up. He comes to love you so that you can love. He comes to forgive you so that you can forgive. He comes to show you mercy so that you can show mercy.
A Christian experiences his coming, his Advent, in his life. This coming of Christ is always wonderful. He comes so that you may truly live this Coming, that he comes into your life to transform your heart so that even others will take notice. One thing I don’t ever say but it seems appropriate in Advent: make a little effort to be good; it is only three weeks this year. Make a little effort to love, to understand, make a little effort to serve your wife, to bring her breakfast in bed. Make a little effort to forgive your debtors. Make a little effort to not watch crap on the internet, to not look at the wife of another.
Don’t give up! If you fall, get back up. Christ comes to change your life, to transform it like the psalm says: O Lord, make us turn to you! And the first reading says that we are like clay in the hands of the potter. The Lord will shape you, will change you without ceasing to be who you are. It will be Christ in you so that you can love as Christ loves. This is Advent.